Archives for posts with tag: be love
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So In Love

October 14, 2017 //
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Weird morning. Strange emotional context to wake into. I sip my coffee feeling very much in love – that “wrapped in delight” almost giddy feeling of excitement just to be in the presence of a special someone. I woke with a song in my head. Funny. Strange choice? Maybe… particularly considering the object of my affections this morning is… me. lol Yeah, that’s a weird one to write about. I’m sort of “crushing on myself” this morning, grooving to tunes I love, too early in the morning, sipping my coffee. Grabbing my bass now and then to try to slowly pick out some particular bit of bass line that catches my attention. It’s a very “now” sort of experience. I feel content. Filled with quiet delight and satisfaction… What is this feeling?

I’m okay right now. Wow – does that actually feel this good, given a chance?

I take a moment for perspective. Sip my coffee appreciatively (another great cup of coffee, and a lovely start to a Saturday morning). I went to bed very early, feeling sick, teetering on the beginning of a head cold I was hoping could be put to rest with… some rest. I feel some better this morning… maybe I won’t get a cold after all? Still, that killer headache I went to bed with was a real thing. I consider the possibility that my current delicious delightful warm and merry emotional state of being may be a byproduct of wellness, unwellness, or biochemical weirdness of some other unspecified sort… Well… I still feel. 🙂  Among all the many ways I could feel at the start of a day, this is, without a doubt, once of the most enjoyable. I feel happy with who I am, who I have become over time, with how I care for myself these days. I smile. The track on my playlist changes. The moment moves on, and becomes new again.

I sip my coffee and smile thinking about my Traveling Partner. I think about parties and friends far away. I think about my niece taking adulthood for her first real spin around the block – 18 already? I smile, and have another drink of my coffee. I think about upcoming holidays, concerts, and plans. I think about work. I think about the container garden on my patio. I think about chickens. I think about a metamour down south and the lovely view from the mountainside on which she makes her home. I think about time. I think about thyme. I think about change. I let my mind wander. I let the music play. I think about late nights, and early mornings. Still smiling, I finish my coffee, and start my day. 🙂

 

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Categories Brain Injury, Free Will, Healthy Living, Love, Mindfulness, Moments, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Relationships, Roses, The Art of Being, The Big 5

It’s Just A Moment Over Coffee, Though

October 13, 2017 //
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My coffee this morning is exceptional. No idea why, exactly, but it’s a damned good cup of coffee, and I am enjoying it. I’m tired, even groggy. (I didn’t sleep well.) It doesn’t matter; this cup of coffee is just that good. The espresso shots were quite lovely when I pulled them, with rich even crema. The steamed almond milk was dense, smooth, and even, and quite perfectly lovely as it swirled into the espresso, as if poured directly from my state of contentment into my coffee mug. Yep. Damned good cup of coffee. It’s a delicious moment on a pleasant morning.

It’s enough. One pleasant moment of leisure, enjoyed on my own terms, something pleasant over which to linger, to savor in the moment and in later recollection…definitely enough; I get a lot of mileage out of moments. I get a lot of enjoyment out of a simple cup of coffee.

Although a great many other mornings led to this one, and a great many other cups of coffee were involved in how well this particular one turned out, it’s not obvious how large the investment over time has been, in creating this one moment. It’s just a moment. Only a moment over coffee on a work day, early in the morning. It’s not fancier than that. I didn’t bring any special equipment or gain any particular epiphany. I didn’t work overly hard at this moment; I showed up. I made coffee. I am enjoying it.

There’s a point to pointing this out. I’ll leave that to you. I’m just going to enjoy this cup of coffee right here, now. 🙂

…If your coffee isn’t exactly as you’d like it… Begin again. Practice. 😉

 

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Categories Allegories, autumn, Brain Injury, Free Will, Metaphors, Mindfulness, Moments, Parables, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Sleepless Nights, The Art of Being

The Moment is Not the Words

October 10, 2017 //
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Beautiful weekend. The sort of beautiful weekend I mark on a calendar, look back on frequently, contemplate, wonder over, and reference in the future. So… I’ve marked it on my calendar. I’ve been looking back on it, already, contemplating it, wondering over it, and here I am in my own “future” (at least, I’m one day beyond the weekend) referencing it. It represents change. It whispers to me about love, family, and contentment. It was weird. Beautiful. Unexpected. Relaxed. Delightful. Peaceful. It was filled with the company of friends, defined by long moments of joy and contentment. It was easy to find stillness – and to enjoy companionship.

I spent the weekend with my Traveling Partner, down at his place, which he shares with his other partner, who was an ex of mine. I put that in the past tense, because I use the term “ex” very specifically, and sparingly, to refer to former (and now discontinued) partnerships and relationships which have been firmly, permanently, completely, entirely, and without any potential future, ended. No continuing contact. “I’m done with that.” She definitely doesn’t fit that definition, now, although I lack language to define our current… situation.

I had a great weekend at her place. I enjoyed her company and her conversation. I realized that there are things I have missed about her (duh, we were in a relationship, once). She was a gracious and delightful hostess this weekend. We had a good time (I say, based on my own experience, from my perspective, without any cause to assume she feels differently, and having heard her affirm the same in her own words). I’ve been invited back, and not just by my Traveling Partner. Wow. I feel so welcomed. I felt so very much at home, in my relationships, as well as wrapped in the gorgeous landscape of Southern Oregon’s Oak Savanna. Beautiful sunrises. The warmth and connection of dear friends and family. It was a wonderful weekend.

It was a splendid autumn weekend, it’s only fitting that it came with a wonderful view. 🙂

The flora and fauna are lovely down there… I want to say “at home” or “back home” or… Yes, I liked it there that much, and for the quality of the company as much as for the landscape. Relationships matter. There was no hint of tension or animus between her and I, and that was lovely. Recognizing that one can indeed “begin again” allows me to do so, even with relationships. It’s a little scary; it could go very wrong (this, whispered to me by the hurt child lurking within, who is, frankly, no judge of good quality relationships at all). The big challenge of new beginnings, by far, is letting go of old baggage… so…

…I begin again. 🙂

Let me circle back on one detail; this was all her. I didn’t take the step across that firm moment of having ended things years ago. I don’t know that I would have. I’m not sure I’m that skilled as an adult. I experienced a moment of powerful respect for this woman who did put her fears and baggage aside, stepped up to me and started a new conversation. “I’d like to start over.” She couldn’t have chosen better words – aren’t I all about beginning again? Wow. How could I not agree? Still, though, this was her moment. I’m still pretty blown away. Nicely done, Woman. Hell of a teachable moment. 🙂 I’m still smiling.

It was a lovely weekend spent with my Traveling Partner, and his lovely Other (who clearly needs a better nickname, here), walking the land, and talking about the future. Our future. (Wow.)

Now here it is Tuesday. The long weekend is over. It’s time to face a new work week. It’s time to begin again. 🙂

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Categories autumn, Free Will, Healthy Living, Love, Metaphors, Mindfulness, Moments, Oregon Trails, Parables, Perspective, Relationships, The Art of Being, The Big 5, women, Words

Spent the Morning With a Friend

October 4, 2017 //
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I didn’t get around to writing much. Ended up spending my precious morning time chatting with a friend online. It has been a lovely way to spend the morning. There’s nothing much I want or need to say about that, and I smile feeling warmed and fulfilled by the moment of connection and shared experience.

I sip my coffee, still smiling. The unexpected chat time will linger pleasantly in my consciousness for some little while, maybe through the day. Living alone provides considerable perspective for appreciating such things. I want to say more, but truly it is enough to simply enjoy how I feel. The work day is ahead of me, the commute is imminent, and none of that matters; I am loved. I am valued. By friends. By my Traveling Partner. By the woman in the mirror. She matters, too. 🙂

I can so easily take the smile on my face for granted, and lose that feeling over some momentary challenge, fusing with the stress or anxiety of an unexpected complication. A plan failing. A bit of discouragement. Some frustration. Some sorrow. A moment of emotion distracting me from this generally pleasant “now” can too easily result in feeling as though “nothing is enough” or “things always go wrong”, or struggling to believe pleasant experiences are “real” because they “don’t last”. It has taken quite a lot of practice to change that from a default setting to an occasional challenge. Worth the effort, though. This morning I’m smiling, enjoying how I feel as a human being on a Wednesday morning, in spite of violence in the world, in spite of the comedy of American politics, in spite of “my issues”… in spite of any distraction from the basic truth of this moment right here; I am okay right now, and life feels pretty good, generally. It’s nice. It’s also enough.

I’m over whatever ailed me over the weekend. I look around my place, and although I am still smiling, still content, I see quite a few things that were definitely let go for a few days. I’ve got some catch up work. I add tasks one by one to my to do list, aware that most of it must be done during evenings and mornings; another trip to see my Traveling Partner this weekend. 😀 I am eager to see him often through the autumn, because once winter settles in and mountain roads become icy, I will be reluctant to make the drive, however much I miss him. Another reminder in life that enjoying what is makes a great deal of sense; this too will pass. 🙂

Still smiling, I finish my coffee, wrap things up with my friend online, and add one more task to my list before moving on to making use of some verbs, before heading to the office… It’s a lovely morning to begin again… but I don’t have to. I am enjoying this now very much. 🙂

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Categories Free Will, Healthy Living, Love, Mindfulness, Moments, Perspective, Relationships, The Art of Being, Words

Morning Comes Early

October 1, 2017 //
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I woke promptly at 3 am. I mean, like, really woke up. No panic, no sense of being awakened by something, I simple woke, feeling rested and alert. Too alert for the wee hour of morning at which I woke, but… fuck it. I got up and made coffee. 🙂

It seemed the sort of morning for it, so, wireless headphones on, I move through my yoga routine, some strength training, and feeling joyful and generally good I moved on from there to simply enjoying my playlist, dancing, and tidying up a bit (relatively quietly, considering the hour – and my neighbors’ likely desire to sleep much later than I had).

Yesterday ended up being, aside from the bit of OPD (other people’s drama) in the morning, quite a lovely and relaxed day. My brunch plans fell through, so I made a lovely bit of brunch at home. My afternoon plans to hang out with a friend also fell through (no ache over that; we hang out most Saturday afternoons, and don’t take such things at all personally, when one or the other of us cancels now and then). I enjoyed a lovely nap in the afternoon, in spite of the quantity of well-crafted espresso beverages I’d consumed. I painted some. I spent some time reading. I enjoyed some time out on the deck, listening to the rustling fluttering leaves tell me about the breezes. I hiked a couple miles on unfamiliar neighborhood trails; my current favorite is rather steeper than I ever seem to expect it to be, and therefore still a bit challenging. It was, in general, quite a lovely day.

After my blog post, yesterday, and throughout the remainder of the day, friends reached out, checked in, checked on me, offered sympathy, encouragement, words of support. I certainly feel well-regarded by my friends, readers, associates – y’all are a good bunch of humans, and damn – I appreciate you. ❤ I’m still pretty wowed by the outpouring of concern and affection. I hope the woman next door is similarly well-regarded by her friends, family, and loved ones – pretty sure she had a much tougher time of things, yesterday, than I did.

Our ability to connect, to share, to be open to one another, to “be there” for each other, matters so much. This morning I finish my coffee while thinking back on dear friends who have always tried to “be there”, and how long it took me to understand that welcoming that connection, and being open to be being supported, is also required. Perhaps I’d have come farther, faster, or found my way more easily to greater wellness sooner, if I had been more easily able to accept help when offered? It’s something I think about.

Funny thing about these early mornings; they don’t seem to change whether or not I have much to say. LOL The track changes on my playlist. I finish my coffee. There is so much of the day still ahead of me…

…The light in my current studio is every bit as good for painting at 5 am as it is at 2 pm in the afternoon (not very; I use artificial light here, so the hour of the day is irrelevant). I turn an imaginary sign in my head to “artist at work”, grin at my fanciful imagination, and go make another cup of coffee. It’s time to begin again. 🙂

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Categories Art, art and the artist, autumn, Brain Injury, Free Will, Mindfulness, Moments, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, The Art of Being, The Big 5
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